The incident in Saudi Arabia referred to by C. J. Cregg in the opening is a thinly disguised version of an actual incident. On March 15, 2002 it was reported that members of the religious police in Mecca had intentionally prevented schoolgirls from fleeing a burning school building because they were not properly attired to appear in public. Fifteen of the female pupils died as a result.
Dulé Hill was nominated in 2002 for an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance in this episode and in Hartsfield's Landing (2002).
CJ (Allison Janney) says "Brutus is an honorable man", a reference to Julius Caesar. Mark Antony gives a speech in which he repeats the phrase "Brutus is an honorable man", even though his speech's content implies that Brutus is treacherous and ungrateful. Similarly, CJ repeats all the outrages practised in Saudi Arabia but cannot directly criticise them.
C.J.'s fishbowl has two Venus symbols in it this episode.
Guest star Mark Harmon is the latest in a line of former Chicago Hope (1994) cast members to make a guest appearance on The West Wing (1999). He is preceded by Adam Arkin (Noël (2000)), Roma Maffia (Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail (2001)), Rocky Carroll (The Drop In (2001)), Ron Silver (Manchester: Part I (2001)), and Hector Elizondo (Dead Irish Writers (2002)). The West Wing executive producer Thomas Schlamme directed a number of episodes of Chicago Hope (1994).